In this the 375th anniversary of Dover and the Seacoast, the newspaperís 125th birthday and its history are yet another cause for celebration.

While the past is so alluring and interesting, the future holds great promise, said Publisher Robert H. Foster.

But the fourth generation publisher is as captivated with the newspaperís past as its future. The road to becoming a successful paper, southeastern New Hampshireís largest daily, was not as smooth as everyone thinks, he points out.

Foster joined the business in August of 1946. He recalls that the newspaper, founded June 18, 1873 by Joshua Lane Foster, enjoyed a circulation that hovered around 500 and there were just 18 employees.

The facilities were dilapidated and the press had associated problems publishing an eight-page newspaper daily.

Fosterís at that time was not that much larger than its first edition, a little four-page "sheet," as Joshua Foster called it at the time. The paper started with 140 subscribers and sold 150 copies of the first issue.

Today, Fosterís Daily Democrat has a readership of more than 60,000 and a new, state-of-the-art printing facility, featuring a new 14-unit Goss Urbanite offset press, in Enterprise Park in Dover.

After 125 years, Fosterís is believed to be the oldest, and possibly the only, daily newspaper in America to carry its founding familyís name in its masthead.

Key improvements over the past 25 years featured the establishment of news bureaus in Portsmouth, Hampton, Exeter, and York, Maine, along with state bureaus in New Hampshire and Maine to report significant state issues.

The acquisitions of The Citizen in Laconia in 1991, and the Sanford News in Sanford, Maine, this year, saw Fosterís Daily Democrat become the core of a regional news force under George J. Foster & Co., Inc..

Another date for the history books is Nov. 2, 1997, the day Fosterís launched its Sunday edition, Fosterís Sunday Citizen.

The Sunday Citizen is an all-star news product, a combination of the talent at Fosterís Daily Democrat and The Citizen. Covering the Seacoast, southern Maine, and the Lakes Region, the Sunday Citizen reaches 84,000 readers.

Leading the technological charge was the creation of the newspaperís Internet website ó www.fosters.com ó in 1995, one of the first in New England.

The website was named the small newspaper site of the year by the Associated Press, and it was a C-SPAN website of the week during the 1996 Presidential Primary.

The strength of Fosterís Daily Democrat continues to be the in-depth coverage of local "essential" news, according to Foster. "Thereís not a paper around that covers the communities around us like we do. And Iíve always had a strong feeling for the local approach."

The significance of the 125th anniversary is not lost on Foster and his family. Even the newspaper office smacks of history, the building being a landmark in downtown Dover.

"Iím lucky to be here. From Ď46 up to the present time, Iíve been privileged to be a part of the most dynamic expansion in automation for newspapers," he said. "Thatís the thrill I get."

Foster, an engineer by training and profession, is proud of the family ownership and involvement, a rarity in todayís business world of big newspaper chains.

The all-in-the-family lineup begins with Foster as publisher, his wife of 46 years, and editor, Therese D. Foster; Patrice D. Foster as vice president of administration; Robert F. Foster as vice president of production; and Catherine (Foster) Hayward as a Human Resources Administrator.

While the four generations faced unique challenges and the pursuit of progress and profit, Robert H. Foster has had the longest term as publisher. It is an honor he cherishes, having the utmost admiration for Joshua Lane Foster and his publishing descendants.

Joshua L. Foster owned and operated a number of newspapers during the 19th century, including the States and Union weekly, first published in Portsmouth on Jan. 2, 1863 from a Daniel Street office. That paper evolved into the Portsmouth Herald.

An ardent States Rights Democrat in the midst of the Civil War, Joshua Fosterís politics in the States and Union nearly got him lynched by a mob who demanded he recant his Democratic Party views.

The founding publisher told members of the crowd, "Go to Hell," as former editor Philip Foster told the story, related from his grandmother, Lucretia Gale Foster.

Strong editorial style continues to this day, a trademark handed down from generation to generation. Itís another source of pride for Robert Foster.

Current publisher Robert H. Foster assumed the post from his father on Nov. 7, 1956.

He explained that the establishment of the Somersworth news bureau in 1947 and the Rochester news bureau in 1948 were critical moves in his early days at the newspaper.

"Iíve always believed that we should have physical presence in all the major communities. We established the Somersworth news bureau in 1947 and the Rochester news bureau in 1948. I though it was important to be a taxpayer in those communities so they knew you were in for the long haul. Those were critical moves for the paper in the beginning,íí Foster said.

The bureaus enabled Fosterís Daily Democrat to have extended news coverage, and to strengthen readership across the Seacoast.

Foster reiterated that the 125-year Fosterís publishing reign was no easy feat. With the disrepair of the newspaperís facilities and declining circulation, Fosterís Daily Democrat was ripe for a takeover, he said.

Four decades ago, the paperís existence was threatened by competition in the form of The Strafford Star, a daily newspaper spearheaded in 1950-51 by a group headed by Leonard S. Finder, a former co-partner with William Loeb, of Manchester Union Leader fame.

With determination and an aggressive news approach, Fosterís Daily Democrat was able to eliminate the Strafford Star competition in three months, the publisher recalled.

That victory, or rather, the intense competition, was a "wake-up call" for the newspaper, Foster said.

"It was a miserable, hard job here," he said about his first days in the news business.

Despite the hard work, with hours late into the night being a routine occurrence, it didnít take long to improve operations, said Foster.

"I think that day I changed a 30 watt bulb with a 60 watt bulb. When I went home that night I figured I had 100 percent improvement," he said. "Thingís progressed."

Foster was born May 17, 1921, the older of two children born to Frederick and Mabel (McCuddy) Foster. He attended Dover High School and, in 1943, received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. After completing advanced R.O.T.C. training in Durham, he graduated from Officerís Candidate School at Camp Davis, North Carolina, and became Second Lieutenant in the US Army.

In his three years, four months in the Army during World War II, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and promoted to First Lieutenant.

After the Armistice, when superiors learned Foster came from a publishing family, he was assigned to compile, edit, and publish a history of the 128th Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion of the 6th Armored Division.

At 25, fresh from the European Theater of Operations in World War II, Foster returned to Dover. His younger sister, Lois Fagan, attended Dover High School and received a business degree from the University of New Hampshire. She worked in the business department for a short period of time before devoting her time to her two sons, Gary and Mark and her husband John Fagan. She passed away December 5, 1995. John Fagan did play an important role with the paper for over twenty years, first as the Classified Ad Manager and finally Assistant to the Publisher.

He had an opportunity to work for General Electric in New York, or, as he puts it, to return to Dover and "find out how a newspaper functions."

When he arrived at the newspaper office at 333 Central Ave. in Dover on Aug. 29, 1946, it was one of his first times inside the family business.

"It didnít take long for me to decide that the challenge of working on this family-owned newspaper was as big a challenge as Iíd ever get in my lifetime."

In addition to maintenance and operations, Foster was initially an advertising salesman.

Early in 1947, Portsmouth shoe dealer Ed Shaines called Frederick Foster and asked for an ad. Fred Foster sent his only son to do the job. "It was my first indoctrination into advertising and I was taught the fundamentals by Ed Shaines," said Foster.

Before assuming the responsibility of publisher, Foster became a fixture in the community through soap box derbies, winter carnivals, and his membership in the Dover Rotary.

In 1951 he married his long-time sweetheart, Therese Durgin and took an eight week honeymoon across the United States. This trip showed a sign of things to come about his curiosity for the business. On his honeymoon he managed to convince his trusting bride that they just happened to be ending up in front of several major newspapers. "Therese was a great gal. She put up with me when I went in to visit papers to get their rate cards and see how others with more resourses got things done. Iím very lucky. I donít think I could get away with that today," Foster said.

On their way back from the honeymoon Foster was recalled to military service at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and later saw active duty in Korea. He returned to the paper in December of 1952.

After the early 1950s, Foster likened the newspaper to a phoenix, rising from its ashes.

Since becoming publisher, he said the 1980ís and 1990ís saw the most growth. "Despite the expansions and acquisitions, and the technological developments, the philosophy remains the same," Foster said. He commended his wife for taking on a more active role in the newsroom in the late 1970ís and early 1980ís with editor William Briesky followed by Thomas Kelsch. "They raised the level of presentation," Foster said. "It was ultimately our current Executive Editor, Rod Doherty, and his news staff who really put the emphasis on local news," Foster said. "He tries to cover everything moving."

To this day, the news mission is defined on the opinion page of Fosterís Daily Democrat. It is from Joshua L. Fosterís salutation in the first edition:

"We shall devote these columns mainly to the material and vital interests of Dover and vicinity. Whatever may tend to benefit this people and enhanced their prosperity, will receive our warm and enthusiastic support."

Joshua Foster also wrote that "There is nothing that can give so much life, pleasure and real, substantial good character to a place as a lively and well conducted daily newspaper."

It is that essence that Robert Foster has in mind when he comes to work every day.

Foster is proud to say that community involvement continues today, with the newspaper retaining its hometown Seacoast roots while expanding into a significant regional daily.

Still, those early days of hard labor are not so long gone.

Even presiding over a large newspaper company in the 1990s, Foster was seen carrying a measuring tape to plan for recent interior renovations of the newsroom. Itís also not an unusual sight to see him carrying boxes or files around the building.

It is just that personal involvement Foster believes is essential to a family operation.

With family ownership, thereís a certain inherent devotion to the newspaper and the community, he explained. "This paperís the only paper in the United States with a family name in the banner. I have the feeling in my heart now the same as I think Joshua had, George had, and I think my father had."

Some day the fifth generation will assume control of Fosterís Daily Democrat. But that may not be for a while ó Foster doesnít have a date set for his ultimate retirement. All three children are actively involved in the day-to-day operations which is very rare in the shrinking pool of family-owned newspapers.

"I would hope it would stay in the family. I hope thereís enough desire," said Foster, noting the uniqueness of a family-owned and operated newspaper. "Once I got attached to this place it became fascinating."

If he could do anything differently, Foster said he would try to devote more time to his family.

Juggling progress and growth with responsibility and "burden," Foster is excited with the newspaperís prospects for another successful 125 years.

Despite competition from a growing broadcast and electronic news media, he remains optimistic about the future of newspapers. As he points out, one canít find the intimacy of a town meeting on television, radio, or the Internet.

As Foster and family celebrate this venture launched by Joshua L. Foster in 1873, the emotions run from pride to satisfaction.

"Because I have not had to deal with splintered ownership issues, Iíve been able to commit more resources back to the newspaper. Iíve had the privilege, after four generations, to have full control and do exactly what I wanted to do," said Foster. "That is unheard of today."